Alongside Heroes
by Amazing TEEN Authoress
Summary: Cora, Thor's sister, finds herself in yet another mess when her brother, Loki, arrives on Earth, hoping to destroy Earth and Thor and herself along with it.
1. Doors Open from Both Sides

Chapter 1: Terror at Project PEGASUS

The helicopter was occupied by three people: Agent Maria Hill of SHIELD, Director Nick Fury of SHIELD, and me, Cora. It was a long flight from New York to the remote facility.

"How bad is it?" Nick asked Phil Coulson, another SHIELD agent, who stood waiting for us with Kimberly, his younger sister. I was the only one who could get away with calling Director Fury by his first name, and he even hated me calling him that.

"That's the problem, sir," he replied, "We don't know."

The conversation continued as we entered the facility, and went down an elevator.

"Dr. Selvig read an energy source from the Tesseract twelve hours ago," Phil explained.

"NASA didn't authorize Selvig to go to Test Phase," Nick said.

"He wasn't testing it," Kim piped up. "He wasn't even the room. It was a spontaneous event."

"It just turned itself on?" I asked.

"Where are the energy levels now?" Nick asked Phil, ignoring my question.

"Climbing," Phil replied.

"When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered evac," Kim added. I always found the way they talked to each other quite funny. Phil would start a sentence, and then Kim would finish it as though she knew exactly what he was going to say. She wasn't even interrupting him, because Phil was okay with it. It was more like they'd orchestrated it.

"Campus should be clear in the next half hour," Phil finished.

"Do better," Nick instructed.

Phil nodded, and went off to attend to some other form of business, while Kim stayed with us.

"Do you think you might be able to shut it down?" Kim asked me.

"Me?" I asked in disbelief.

"It was your dad's cube," Kim said.

"He never taught me about it," I disagreed. "By the time I learned of its existence, it had been far out of his reach for hundreds of years."

"Sir, evacuation may be futile," Maria said.

"We should tell them to go back to sleep?" Nick asked in disbelief.

"If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance," Kimberly explained.

"I need you to make sure the Phase 2 prototypes are shipped out," Nick instructed.

"Sir, is that really a priority right now?" Maria asked.

"Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on," Nick snapped. "Clear out the tech below. I want every piece of Phase 2 on a truck and gone."

"Yes, sir," Maria sighed, and stalked off.

As we entered the room where the scientists were attempting to turn the Tesseract off, I caught sight of Dr. Erik Selvig, a friend of the astrophysicist Jane Foster, both of whom had been a part of the New Mexico Incident last year.

"Talk to me, doctor," Nick instructed.

"Director," Erik said, leaving his post and walking over to us.

"Is there anything we know for certain?" Nick asked.

"The Tesseract is misbehaving," Erik said.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Nick responded.

"Oh, that's not funny at all," Erik assured him. "She's not only active, she's… behaving."

"How does that happen?" I asked.

"She's an energy source," Erik explained. "You turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level…"

"We prepared for this, doctor," Nick said, "Harnessing energy from space."

"But I don't have the harness," Erik retorted. "My calculations are far from complete. She's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation.

"That can be harmful. Where's Agent Barton?" Nick demanded. I recognized the name of Rachel's boyfriend of a year and five months.

"The Hawk?" Erik scoffed. "Up in his nest, as usual."

"Agent Barton, report," Nick instructed. As soon as Clint was within hearing distance, Nick said, "I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things."

"Well, I see better from a distance," Clint argued.

"Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?" Nick asked.

"Doctor, it's spiking again," a blond female worked informed Erik.

"No one's come or gone," Clint reported, "And Selvig's clean. No contact, no IMs. If there's any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end."

"_At this end_?" Nick echoed.

"Yeah, the Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right?" Clint informed him. "Doors open from both sides."

A loud mechanical whirring was followed by an even louder, more noticeable rumble.

The Tesseract was going wild. I was almost positive it would blow.


	2. We Are at War

A large blue ray shot from the cube and opened a portal. A wave of energy blew across the room and disappeared, leaving a little ball of it just around the ceiling.

In the space where the portal had appeared and disappeared, a figure was crouching. Its black hair, menacing blue gaze and smile, and gold staff were eerily familiar…

I took a step back and clutched Kim's arm, but did not portray any sign of fear on my face. I kept the surprised look of everyone else.

"Sir, please put down the spear," Nick called.

As Loki gazed up at us, a faint glow of recognition came into his eyes as his gaze hit me, and faded as it left. He gazed at his spear and instead of setting it down like a sensible person, shot the same kind of blue ray as the Tesseract had.

Chaos came to the room. Men were killed, or severely injured. Kim and I were both sent flying against the wall. Kim fell unconscious as she hit her head, but the only damage done to me was that I had some bleeding.

As I pushed myself up with sticky, bloody hands, I saw that Loki had Clint's wrist in a tight, restraining grip. "You have heart," he said, and pressed his spear to his chest.

Clint's eyes were glazed with a blue light, and he put his gun back into its belt.

_No_! I thought inwardly, and my mind was screaming the word.

I watched Nick take the Tesseract and put it in a case.

"Please don't," Loki said. His icy voice made me shiver. "I still need that."

"This doesn't have to get any messier," Nick said.

"Of course it does," Loki retorted. "I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

"Loki!" Erik exclaimed. "Brother of Thor!"

_You really shouldn't have said that,_ I thought.

"We have no quarrel with your people," Nick assured Loki.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki retorted.

"Are you planning to step on us?" Nick guessed.

"I come with glad tidings," Loki said. "Of a world made free."

"Free from what?" Nick asked.

"Freedom," Loki said. "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart-" as he said this, he pressed his spear to Erik's chest, "You will know peace."

"Yeah, you say peace. I kind of think you mean the other thing," Nick said.

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling you," Clint informed Loki. "This place is abot to blow, and drop 100 feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."

"Like the pharaohs of old," Nick agreed.

"He's right." Erik confirmed Clint's words. "The Tesseract is collapsing in on itself. We've got maybe 2 minutes before this goes critical."

"Drop him." Loki nodded at Clint, who shot Nick. I slung Kim over my shoulders, and narrowly missed a bullet myself.

Nick had dropped to the floor, and Erik took the Tesseract's case.

I walked over to Nick with Kim draped over my shoulders.

"Hill!" Nick grunted as he pulled the bullet from his chest. "Do you copy? Barton... has... turned..."

There was static and gunshots on Maria's side. I assumed that Clint had not been happy that Maria had learned of his situation.

"They've got the Tesseract! Shut them down!" Nick instructed.

Nick and I were sprinting to escape the collapsing building. The extra weight of Kim did not slow my run.

"We're clear upstairs, sir," said Phil's voice on Nick's comm. "You need to go."

We were above ground now, and the helicopter was in sight. Nick and I jumped in. I laid Kim's body on the helicopter floor. I felt signs of response as I brushed her hair from her face.

The ground below us was crumbling, and within seconds, it collapsed. The helicopter bounced as the ground fell.

Kim's eyes fluttered open just then. Loki fired a shot at the helicopter with his scepter, and Nick shot back. He jumped from the helicopter and continued shooting Loki, Erik, Clint, and Spencer (an agent and a friend of mine).

I saw their escape. "Director," Phil said into his comm. "Director Fury, do you copy?"

"The Tesseract is with a hostile force. I have men down. Hill?" That was Nick's response.

"A lot of men still under," Maria's voice said. "I don't know how many survivors."

"Sound a general call," Nick instructed. "I want every looking soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase. Coulson, get back to base. Kim, get yourself cleaned up and then head straight there. This is a Level 7. As of right now, we are at war."

I looked at Kim as Nick spoke. "What do we do?" Phil asked.

Neither Nick nor anyone else could answer Phil's question.


	3. Call of Duty

My sleep was interrupted by the sound of numerous punches being thrown. A chain was rattling close by, and that's also where the sounds of the punches were coming from.

"Trouble sleeping?" asked a familiar voice, and I guessed that this wasn't a comment about me.

After the disaster at Project PEGASUS a week ago, Nick Fury had been, in secret, gathering "remarkable people" to join his team, which he called "the Avengers".

"I slept for 70 years, sir. I think I've had my fill," was Steve's reply.

I remembered where I was, and why he had been punching. We were just at a boxing arena, and he was punching a sandbag.

"Then you should be out, celebrating. Seeing the world," Nick suggested.

"When I went under, the world was at war," Steve said, "I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost."

"We've made some mistakes along the way," Nick agreed. "Some, very recently."

"Are you here with a mission, sir?" Steve guessed.

"I am." Nick's reply got me interested. I opened my eyes, stood up, and walked over to the two men.

"You trying to get me back in the world?" Steve accused.

"Trying to save it," Nick corrected.

Nick handed Steve a folder with a file on the Tesseract. I sat on the bench beside him, looking at it.

"HYDRA's secret weapon," Steve said.

"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you," Nick explained. "He thought what we think. The Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs."

"Who took it from you?" Steve asked.

"He's called Loki," Nick explained. "He's... not from around here."

Steve glanced questioningly at me, and Nick nodded in response.

"There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in," Nick said.

Steve and I started to walk out. "Is there anything about the Tesseract that we need to know now?" Nick asked.

"You should have left it in the ocean," Steve answered.


	4. The Helicarrier

**And, here it is, the next chapter of ALONGSIDE HEROES! I thank you all for waiting so patiently! I had writer's block on this one, and I was working on my other stories. Make sure to check out 'The New Avengers', 'Stolen Family', and 'Alyssa's New Love'. Also, remember to check out the Author's Note in 'Stolen Family' for a contest! Cookies to everyone who read and reviewed!**

After a long and very awkward helicopter flight, Phil finally led us off the chopper and onto the helicarrier. "Stow the captain's gear," he instructed two workers. They nodded and got to the job. The redheaded twins, Natasha and Acasha Romanoff, came to greet us. "Agent Romanoff," Phil said, "Both of you... Captain Rogers." He nodded from the twins to Steve.

"Don't worry about introducing us, Phil," I said. "We already know each other." Kim smiled at me.

"Hi," Natasha said finally. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face-trace."

Natasha and Cash showed us around. "It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice," Natasha commented to Steve.

"I thought Phil was gonna swoon," Cash giggled. Kim mock-glared at her.

"Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" Natasha asked.

"Trading cards?" Steve was utterly confused.

"They're vintage," Cash added. "He's very proud."

As we walked, we came across another familiar face. "Dr. Banner!" Steve called.

"Oh, yeah, hi," Dr. Banner said. "They told me you'd be coming."

He shook our hands. "Word is, you can find the Cube," Steve said.

"Is that the only word on me?" Dr. Banner had obviously expected something more.

"Only word I care about," Steve explained.

We started off toward the bridge. "It must be strange for you, all of this." Dr. Banner gestured to the activity on the helicarrier.

"Well, actually, this is kind of familiar," Steve disagreed, and we both looked at a patrol of SHIELD troops jogging on a track.

I smiled. He was obviously remembering the same thing I was.

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

_The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the air was warm. It was a beautiful day out. I heard Colonel Phillips' constant shouts drawing nearer. I looked back and saw the troops approaching, with the Rogers boy a creditable distance behind them. _

_"That flag means we're only at the halfway point!" Colonel Phillips announced, pointing at the flagpole. "First one to bring that flag to me gets a ride back with Agent Carter!" _

_The troops rushed to the flagpole, jumping at the flag. Hodge, the bully, tried climbing up the pole. Colonel Phillips was encouraging him. "Come on, get up there, Hodge!" _

_After about two minutes, Colonel Phillips told them to fall in. I saw the Rogers boy approach the pole. He fiddled with a couple of screws, and then the pole collapsed with a loud BANG. Rogers took the flag to Colonel Phillips and said, "Thank you, sir." _

_He jumped in the back of the car, smiling as we left the troops behind._

_END FLASHBACK_

* * *

"Gentlemen, you might want to step inside," Natasha said, bringing me back to present day. "It's gonna get a little hard to breathe."

Steve and Dr. Banner moved toward the edge, watching something churn the water. Minutes later, I saw that we were lifting into the air, and that the things spinning were propellers. We went inside and greeted Nick Fury. I saw Steve slip Nick a 10-dollar bill from their bet earlier.

"Gentlemen," Nick said, and spying me, added, "And ladies."

Kim smirked at me.

"Doctor, thank you for coming," Nick said, shaking Dr. Banner's hand.

"Thanks for asking nicely," Dr. Banner replied, obviously referring to something I didn't know about. "So, how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind," Nick told him.

"And where are you with that?" Dr. Banner asked.

Nick nodded at Kim and Phil.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," Phil explained. "Cell phones, laptops."

"If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us," Kim added.

"That's still not gonna find it in time," Natasha argued.

"You have to narrow your field," Dr. Banner agreed. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Nick asked.

"Call every lab you know," Dr. Banner instructed. "Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm for basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his labratory, please?" Nick requested.

Natasha and Acasha left with Dr. Banner.


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTE: PLEASE READ

Okay, so this isn't an official chapter, but still something important. My best friend and I were discussing Cora one night at a sleepover, and we were discussing her special powers (as this best friend was Cora's best friend Rachel) and I admitted I didn't have any in mind. So you can imagine that we had a huge discussion of what kind of powers she had. We already know she has wings and can fly, and I know that if she cries it rains. So I told Rachel this, and she said "What if Cora could control the elements?" I didn't like this at first, but then I realized that it was pretty cool. So we established that she could indeed control the elements. Wind is her specialty, she can create tornados and make strong winds. I've always wanted to be able to create tornados. She can also control fire and earth but not water. Water is her weakness. She can't swim and water, to her, is deadly. Her wings suddenly become 10x heavier and try to drag her down toward the ocean floor. So that's why water can be deadly to her. But she has to at least be half-submerged in water for it to have any affect on her. Just splashing her with water won't do anything.

I thought I should let you know this because I don't think people are entirely sure what her goddess powers are. Hopefully this clears it up for you guys. Also, her daughter, Hayley, can also control wind but doesn't know this yet :). So hopefully you guys understand this better.


End file.
